Perfect
by BlueJeans07
Summary: The entire world views Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian Peacecraft as perfect, including Heero Yuy. But when Heero realizes that he's in love with Relena, he needs look past the mask she's placed and find the real Relena who lurks within.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is owned by people who have more power and influence than I will ever have.  
Author's Note: I have been reading a lot of 1xR lately and I just haven't discovered the fic that embodies my idea of what 1xR should be. Relena gets too clingy sometimes, or Heero doesn't understand emotions, there's drama, there's crying, and then story's over or it's incomplete. So, in the end, I just decided to write my own to show my version of 1xR as well as explore these two characters. 

Thanks to my pallies M.E. and Rapunzel! 

Perfect  
By Blue Jeans

Chapter One: Plastic Mask 

Relena Peacecraft Darlian was perfect. 

For one thing, she was pretty: long golden hair, sweet cornflower blue eyes, pale complexion, hell, even her teeth were nice. Her height was a bit under average and her figure was slim, but her breasts were nice and plump, and her hands were always soft and smooth. 

But aside from being pleasing to the eyes, she was shockingly intelligent and witty. Relena could make a whole room laugh without having to act stupid or crude, she wrote her own speeches, and could quickly point out flaws in various proposals and ideas without being cruel. Everyone loved Relena, worshiped the ground she walked on and saw her as the bringer of peace. 

Heero Yuy was one of them. He also saw her as the savior of the new Earth Sphere Alliance and knew that she was probably the strongest person in the world. That's why he couldn't leave her after the Mariemaia Incident. Well, probably not the only reason. Heero knew that he loved her and that even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to stay away from her. After all, he followed his emotions and learned to rely on his feelings when facts proved to be useless. 

He had never told her about his feelings but he always thought that she knew. He was there for her, wasn't he? In fact, after becoming her personal bodyguard, he was always with her. She asked for his opinion on certain matters, he gave them. He asked her if she was getting enough rest and she told him exactly how many hours, minutes and seconds of sleep she had gotten that night, always with the same elegant smile. 

But lately, things have been different. Well, not really different, but it seemed strange to Heero that everything had fallen into routine. It felt to him that Relena had become very distant to him. 

He picked her up from her house in his car and drove her to work, then sat with her in her office as she worked, went with her to meetings, ate with her at lunch, then sat more with her as she worked, often having dinner with her when there was too much work to do (and there often was) and then took her home. After checking the security parameters and swept over her modest three bedroom house. Then they said good night and he went home. 

Routine. And, Heero suddenly realized, impersonal. 

They didn't act like two old friends or two lovers. They worked like people who knew each other vaguely. Hell, they acted like people who didn't have a history together! As if they had never chased after each other, watched each other suffer, work, persevere, there was nothing between them. 

Relena didn't touch him anymore either. She used to put a hand on his arm, rest herself against him when she was tired, or lightly brush her hand against his. But those moments that were already few and far between had stopped completely. 

Heero didn't like it, how did things manage to become this way? When was the last time did he see Relena really smile? He knew the last time he saw Relena truly show emotion was at Pagan's funeral where she cried the entire time in Zechs's arms, but that was over a year ago. Since then, Relena put all of her effort and time into her job, probably to distract herself from the pain but it resulted in locking herself up. 

This couldn't go on. Heero threw the book he was reading across the room and stormed over to the vid-phone. 

"Chang-Maxwell residence- hey, Heero!" Duo greeted his best friend joyfully, "How you doing, man?" 

"Duo," Heero nodded in acknowledgment. "I need some... advice. Is it okay if I come over?" 

The braided Preventer's eyes widened, "Sure, no problem, buddy. Umm advice? About what?" 

"Relena." 

"Whoa man!" Duo jerked backwards, "I'm going to need back up if that's the case. I'll call up Quatre and Trowa, order a pizza and stuff so come over in an hour, okay?" 

"Hn." Heero hung up. 

/-/-/-/ 

"Wow... that... that SUCKS," Duo got up from the couch where he and Wufei had been cuddling on and went over to the floor to sling an arm around his friend's shoulders. 

Quatre shook his head, "We should've known, at the very least we should've had an inkling-" 

"But we didn't have an inkling, Quatre." Trowa's soft voice interrupted his lover, "Most likely because she didn't want us to know... or she didn't even know about it herself. Relena distracted herself from Pagan's death by throwing herself into her work, probably not even realizing she was slowly closing herself off." 

"Pagan was the closest thing to a family that she had too," Duo added. "Her foster mother died years ago and Millardo and Noin are still on Mars. 'Lena doesn't have anyone else." 

Heero looked at Duo with surprise and little bit of pain, "She has me." 

Duo sputtered and was about to take it back when Wufei cut in, "To be honest, she doesn't mostly because you never really opened up to her. No, don't interrupt," Wufei said when the four other men in the room opened their mouths to protest. 

"We're twenty-three years old and most of us have settled down with our lives. We made a present and a future for ourselves, but you, Heero, haven't. You work and live day to day protecting Relena, but you probably have never told her how you felt about her and she needs to hear that." The Chinese man's eyes softened as he fixed Heero with a steady gaze, "How intuitive she is isn't the matter, whatever feelings you have for her need to be vocalized." 

Trowa looked at Heero curiously, "How do you feel about her anyway?" 

"I love her. Simple as that," Heero answered as Quatre choked on his tea while Duo let out a loud, "HA!" Even Wufei had a hint of a smile on his face. "What!" 

"Don't sound so irritated, buddy, we're trying to help you here!" the braided Preventer grinned. "You sure you love her? How well do you know her anyway? What's 'Lena's favorite book? Her favorite food? Her hobbies? Her career choice before the war? Her favorite color?" 

Heero felt confident about his answer to the last question, "Pink." 

"Actually, it's blue," Quatre answered and flushed when Heero stared at him incredulously. "She likes lavender a lot too." 

"What DO you know about her!" Duo exclaimed, "You've spent nearly every day with her since the Mariemaia incident, which was when we were sixteen! SEVEN YEARS, HEERO! Seven years and you don't know a goddamn thing about her! Where have your eyes and ears been all these years, everywhere else but on her!" 

"I had to protect her-" 

"I understand that, but protecting her shouldn't mean ignoring her presence entirely!" the braided pilot threw his hands in the air, "Tell me, what do you love about her anyway if you don't know her at all? Why, after all these years do you love Relena? And if you say it's because she's the bringer of peace, so help me I'll break your legs _and_ your arms so you can't set your bones yourself!" 

Heero could feel his face heating up as his friends looked at him expectedly. He glared at them but they had long since gotten used to his glare so it was a useless tactic. Finally, he sighed and muttered, "Because she's strong and smart. Because she's so open. Because when she looks at you, she looks at everything about you and finds the good in you. In anyone. Because... because, dammit Duo, she's _Relena_! Are you satisfied now! Is that good enough for you!" Heero yelled. 

Duo looked at Quatre, who looked at Wufei, who looked at Trowa, who looked back at Duo. They all turned to Heero who was taking deep breaths and was bright red in the face. 

"That's a good start," the violet eyed Preventer grinned happily at his best friend. 

"A good START!" 

"A very good start," Quatre smiled. "But you need to learn more about her." 

"Learn about her life, her likes, her dislikes," Trowa added. "The real Relena, not the one that's on the news every day or in the papers." 

"Present to him like a mission," Wufei smirked. "That'll get him working." 

Duo burst out laughing and stood over him, "Okay Heero, this is your mission." Heero scowled but felt himself straighten up unconsciously at the word "mission." The pilot continued, "For the next two weeks, you have to learn something about the Vice Foreign Minister, Relena Peacecraft Darlian, everyday. This may include certain personality quirks, her preferences, her opinions, etc. Also, you have to get her to show you her emotions, no more of that elegant smile that she shows the world. And finally," Duo paused dramatically, "Make sure you make her happy. Failure is not an option, your future happiness as well as hers is on the line. Do I make myself clear?" 

Heero felt himself nod, "Mission accepted." 


	2. Cute

Chapter Two: Cute

Heero was a disgusting morning person. At least that's what Duo called him when the two of the bunked together during the war and he tended to rise at the "buttcrack of dawn" to go for a jog. According to his braided best friend, he was disgusting enough to not need an alarm clock although Heero did have a digital one on his nightstand that he only used to tell time. This morning wasn't different from other mornings since the war ended per se: it was gray and cloudy outside because the sun hadn't risen yet, he went for his usual jog around his block, showered, and had a bit a breakfast. By the time he completed his usual morning routine, it was about eight o'clock and about time to pick Relena up from her place. 

Contrary to what people believed, Relena Darlian Peacecraft, former Queen of the World and Princess of the now defunct Sanq Kingdom, didn't live in a castle. Since the boarders between countries had been dissolved, she had turned the Sanq palace into a museum that was dedicated to pacifists through the ages and moved to the capital. Her house of choice was a modest three bedroom house in a neighborhood that was teeming with families, dogs, cats and treehouses who were too busy spinning their own wheels to notice the reclusive Vice Foreign Minister. 

Heero pulled into the driveway and came out of his car, walked up the cobblestones that lead to her red front door of the yellow house and rang the bell. After a moment, Relena opened the door and greeted Heero with her usual warm smile. 

"Good morning, Heero. I hope you slept well." 

"Hn." 

"Ready to go?" Relena stepped outside and locked her door, then walked with Heero to his car and slid into the front seat. The drive to her office was quiet which was usual for them but Heero couldn't stop himself from looking at her curiously, looking for something, anything about that showed how she could really be. She didn't seem to notice the extra amount of attention that she was getting from the man she had once pursued, in fact Relena's mind always seemed to be elsewhere during their drives to her office. 

The day progressed normally, Relena only had a lunch meeting and spent most of the day reading through proposals. Heero sat with her in her office checking over security parameters and stealing glances at his love interest. She looked very pretty in a soft beige pantsuit, a pale blue blouse and a pearl necklace. Her blond hair was long and loose and she didn't wear a lot of make-up, but her look seemed to be slightly androgynous just to confirm that she would be taken seriously as a person instead of as a young woman. 

"Heero? Is something wrong?" Relena's concerned tone startled Heero out of his musings. 

The bodyguard recovered quickly, "No of course not. I was... just thinking about something Duo said. I met up with him and the others last night." 

Relena seemed to brighten slightly, "How are they? I miss them terribly." 

"They seemed well," Heero packed up his things. "Ready to head home?" 

She nodded and grabbed her briefcase. The drive home was also quiet and Heero got out first to do his customary security sweeps through Relena's house while she waited for him in the car. Relena's house was decorated in airy, soft shades from the dove gray carpet to the upholstered flowered couches to the blond wood tables. The red door opened into a tiled foyer with the large living room that the lead into the dining room and kitchen on the left side. Directly after the foyer was the entertainment area with a large fireplace and entertainment center with glass doors that lead to the well kept backyard. A small hallway led into two bedrooms and the study. And that was where Heero noticed It. 

It was actually a variety of things. A variety of very cute things. While all the other rooms were tidy because Relena was a naturally tidy person and since she lived by herself there was never much of a mess to clean up, the study was actually where she spent most of her time and the large desk had pens, stationary, and other office detritus scattered all over it. 

And every single one of them was... cute. The pencil holder that sat at the corner of the desk was made out of ceramic and shaped like a sleeping tabby kitten was crammed full of pens and pencils that came in a variety of pastel colors and had cartoony drawings on them of cats, dogs, moons, stars, rainbows, flowers, etc. The ball-point tops were clear plastic and were shaped in stars and hearts, some of them even had little flowers in them, or if the pen was pressed down, the top would light up. The erasers were shaped like fruit and the notebooks had hearts with wings on them with silly phrases and came in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. 

Heero stared. In the office, Relena used the standard black and gold pens, her notebook organizers were bound in black leather, and they were basically stuff that served their purposes. Why on earth would she need all these gaudy, girly office supplies? 

"Heero? Is everything all right?" Relena's voice called from the study doorway. Heero spun around with a blue pen with a plastic star in his hand to face her. She blinked and stared at the object in his hand, then grinned suddenly. "That one's my favorite." 

"It's... amusing," he said honestly as she joined him at the desk. 

"It is, especially if all you've been doing is reading proposals. Sometimes I need to be cheered up, even in the smallest way possible and this stuff serves its purpose," Relena answered, stroking a strawberry shaped eraser fondly with her fingers. "I can't use them in the office though, imagine the look on all those faces if I whipped out, oh a Hello Kitty pen with dangling bells to take notes during a meeting." 

"Hn. Maybe they'll be jealous that they don't have one," Heero remarked without thinking. His charge stared at him incredulously before she burst out laughing. He smirked, handed her the pen and finished up his security sweep. 

Heero was getting ready to go when she stopped him. Smiling, Relena handed him the blue pen with the star. "For all of your hard work. See you tomorrow." 

Heero accepted the pen and pressed it lightly into his thumb to see the star light up. He nodded and gave her a small smile, then went home. When he reached his apartment, he called up Duo in the vid-phone. 

"What do you have to report, soldier?" Duo asked half jokingly. Heero held up the pen. "What the heck? It's a pen. With a star on it...!" 

"It's her favorite. It lights up too." 

"So what are you doing with it?" 

"Relena gave it to me. She has more of these. Well not this pen exactly but she has more that are like this one... all of them are... cute. It amuses her." 

"So, the princess has a weakness for cute things," the braided man was grinning. "Here, this is what you do..." 

/-/-/-/ 

The next day was long and boring. Relena Darlian couldn't wait to get back home so that she could take a hot shower and finally unwind after such a troublesome day. Muttering the latest proposals and contracts under her breath as Heero performed his security sweeps, she kept working mentally as she bade Heero goodbye. 

As soon as he left, she took off her shoes and wiggled her toes happily in her stockings, padding around the house as she put things away. After her shower and putting in some leftover spaghetti and meatballs she had made the night before into the microwave, Relena leaned back against the counter when her elbow brushed against something. 

On the counter was a lead pencil with lavender plaid printing and a small heart shaped crystal dangling from the top. Relena frowned as she picked it up, noting that she didn't have one like this. She noticed that someone had put masking tape on one side and wrote "Thanks for the pen. Hope you like this. HY" in small, neat letters. The microwave beeped, signaling her food was done but her thoughts were suddenly a few miles away and focused on messy brown hair and a pair of mysterious blue eyes. 


	3. Helpful Appearances

Author's Notes: Hullo, Blue Jeans here! Wow, four reviews already! Actually, the maximum number of reviews I've ever received on a fanfic has been four so I'm barely able to contain my joy at reaching my maximum even though there are only two chapters up! Thank you very much Ellidan Stormhammer, gundamgirl818, Amanda and Karlie for making me so happy! Judging from your reviews, it seems I'm doing my job properly at portraying Heero and Relena in a slightly more realistic kind of relationship. I hope to show them really develop feelings for each other and struggle through all fun, difficulties, and mayhem of a normal relationship.

Chapter 3: Helpful Appearances 

Relena dropped her pen onto her desk and ran to the door when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly unlocked the door and swung it open, then was immediately caught up in a tight, violet-scented hug. 

"Nice to see you too, Hilde," Relena laughed and hugged her back. Hilde grinned and released her friend, then grabbed her dufflebag. "Here, let me show you to your room." 

"Jumped onto the shuttle as soon as you called me, girlie," the blue haired woman walked in and after taking off her shoes, followed Relena to the extra bedroom. "It's a good thing I was in dire need of a vacation. Let me just freshen up a bit and then you will tell me everything!" 

"Sure, Hilde, whatever you say!" Relena laughed and headed into the kitchen. "Hungry?" 

"Starving! Feeding me?" 

"I guess I have to!" Since she had already prepared for Hilde's arrival, there wasn't much to do. Relena heated up the chicken in the oven, tossed together a quick salad, and began to set the table. By then, Hilde had showered and offered to help. The two girls decided that it would be more fun to sit at the breakfast nook instead of at Relena's large dining table and had their dinner. 

"So spill the beans, Relena," Hilde raised her eyebrow she spread salad dressing liberally over her salad. "What's going on between you and Mr. Yuy? Sounds like there's more than a business relationship going on over there." 

"Honestly Hilde, I don't know," Relena sighed. "He never really showed a whole lot of interest in me-" 

"Are you kidding me? He rescued you multiple times, he kissed you twice-" 

"No, those were never kisses, those were almost kisses." 

Hilde blinked and put her fork down, "Almost kisses? As in he started to kiss you and then stopped!" 

"Well, things happened, like the hatch of the Peacemillion opening and he had to get me out of there, or that time on that abandoned colony and it was about to explode- hey that's not funny!" Relena blushed as Hilde burst out laughing. 

"Oh you two are just... just too much," the blue haired woman laughed so hard that she started to choke. Hilde had to take a drink of wine to calm herself down but then she leaned in. "So how do you feel about him now?" 

Relena sighed and leaned back in her chair, "I... really don't know. I was crazy about him when I was younger but that was when I didn't really know better. My entire world was changing and I latched onto the only constant thing and that turned out to be Heero. And, uhh, no pun intended, but it was more hero worship than anything," she blushed as Hilde snickered. "I do like him though. I like him a lot." 

"Just a lot, huh?" her friend raised her eyebrow. 

"Well to be honest, I don't know a whole lot about him, mostly because he doesn't tell me," Relena smiled somberly. "It's funny, I know the way his brow furrows when he's not happy about something, or the look he gets on his face when he's concentrating hard... and I don't know what kind of music he likes to listen to or what his favorite food is. It's not like I really paid attention to him either, especially after Pagan passed away..." She closed her mouth abruptly and started clearing away her plate. 

Hilde reached out and grabbed her hand, "Relena, don't clam up. Pagan wouldn't want that." She got up and wrapped an arm around her friend. "I kept kicking myself after he died when I noticed that all you were doing was work. I should've been there for you." 

"No, it isn't your fault. Duo had just left you and you were struggling with keeping up the scrap business all by yourself," Relena hugged Hilde. "I should have been there for you as well. It must've been difficult for you." 

"Yeah well... what could I do, he was in love with what's-his-face, not with me," Hilde remarked with a bitter smile. "I couldn't hold him down no matter how much I loved that braided idiot. He sold me the business and then left. Okay, enough of the depressing stuff!" she said suddenly, "Let's get this mess cleaned up and make some sundaes. Just because we went through some hard times doesn't mean we should be upset about it now! Besides, we have to make up for lost time!" 

Hilde jumped up and grabbed Relena, then dragged her into the kitchen. Relena laughed happily and let herself be pulled. 

/-/-/-/ 

Duo Maxwell yawned hugely as he trudged up the cobblestones to Relena's front door, shooing a lone cat out of his way before he hopped onto her porch and rang her doorbell. He waited and frowned when he noticed that no one was answering, then rang two more times. Right when he was considering breaking down the door and running in with his gun cocked, the door swung open and a sleepy looking Hilde snarled, "She's coming, hold your damned horses, Heero-" 

Her eyes snapped open when she realized who was at the door. The two usual chatterboxes were soon caught in a rare moment of silence as they devoured each other visually. Hilde couldn't stop staring at her ex-boyfriend. She was accustomed to seeing Duo in his regular black clothes so she had never seen him in a Preventer's uniform before, the sexiest uniform to exist in a very long time. While other people would had faded into nothingness in the dull olive greens and navy blues, Duo seemed to glow since both colors caused his already vibrant eyes to stand out and plucked out the red in his hair. The tight sleeves defined his muscular arms and the white, v-neck t-shirt he wore underneath his jacket hugged his torso and emphasized his collar bones, revealing a hint of the well-defined chest that she knew lurked under there. 

Duo's violet eyes took in Hilde's silky, powder blue shorts and tank top pajamas, nothing special but the silk clung to her figure and left nothing to the imagination. Vaguely, Duo noted that she had let her hair grow since they had parted ways and her blue-black hair was softly brushing against her bare shoulders, settling at the top of her perky breasts. He swallowed hard when he noticed her nipples had hardened from the chilly morning breeze and her figure was still slim and fit, but curvy in all the right places. 

Of course, in typical Duo fashion, he couldn't stay silent and enjoy the view for long. "Babe...?" he asked hesitantly. "What are you-" WHAM! Duo found himself on the ground looking at pretty stars and bluebirds flying over his head as Hilde rubbed her sore fist and ran into the house. There was hysterical screaming, then a calm, soothing voice, and then Relena suddenly appeared and crouched over the fallen Preventer. 

"Duo? Are you okay?" she pushed his bangs out of his eyes and frowned when she noticed the beginnings of a black eye. 

"Oww... ow ow ow ow..." Duo sat up slowly and groaned. "Sheesh, the one day I stand in for Heero and I get socked. Ow. Yeah, I'm okay Relena. What's Hilde doing here anyway?" 

"She's on vacation," Relena answered shortly and helped him up. "What about you?" 

"Heero's supervising the installation of the new security system, remember?" Duo opened the door for her and climbed into the car himself. 

"That's supposed to be next week." 

"They moved it a week early, I guess they forgot to mention it to you." 

They drove silently for awhile until Relena remarked, "Hilde's really mad at you." 

"No kidding." 

"Well, you probably shouldn't have called her 'babe'." 

"It's a reflex," Duo sighed and winced when he felt his black eye sting. "I've always called her 'babe' and she's always let me." 

"That was before you broke up with her after being with her for all those years. She still loves you, you know." 

"I know." More silence and they arrived at Relena's office. Duo parked his car, leapt out and helped Relena out, then trailed after her as she mentally ran down a long list of things she had to do that day. Meanwhile, the wheels in Duo's own head was turning as he stared at the Vice Foreign Minister, wondering how much his ex-girlfriend had told Relena about their relationship. He sighed, women teaming up wasn't part of his plan to hook Relena up with Heero, if anything, Hilde was a wild card and could easily pull Relena from one direction to the other and back again. 

The future looked very frightening indeed. 


End file.
